


Safe In My Arms

by melxncholly



Series: Jason Todd Birthday Week 2018 [1]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU
Genre: Bruce Wayne is a Good Parent, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Jason Birthday Week 2018, Jason Todd is Robin, Mother-Son Relationship, Nightmares, Past Child Abuse, fear of storms, fear of thunder, or to be more specific
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-09
Updated: 2018-08-09
Packaged: 2019-06-24 05:28:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15623583
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/melxncholly/pseuds/melxncholly
Summary: Jason's having a great night until he isn't. When the thunder wakes up Jason in the middle of the night on his birthday, old memories come to surface as he's stuck alone in the quiet manor.All he really wants is his mom.He gets the next best thing.Day 1 of Jason's Birthday Week: Childhood





	Safe In My Arms

**Author's Note:**

> im on vacation atm but i saw the prompts for jasons birthday week and i just had to do them! im still working on yj outlaws, but i really wanted to get these done too!!! i hope you guys enjoy it

_ The kitchen is beautiful. With soft blue walls, accented with white. Jason sits at the table, his father sitting across from him while his mother cooks. A soft breeze wafts through the open window, bringing with it the soft scent of the sea. _

 

_ It was perfect. _

 

_ “Baby,” his mother says, and just looking at her makes Jason smile. She’s practically glowing as she stands there. Her dark brown hair falls over her shoulders in thick waves. She wears a white apron, checked around the sides and middle with white and light blue. “What would you like for breakfast Jason?” She asks, kissing his temple. _

 

_ “After all…” It’s his father’s turn to speak now. He idly sips at his coffee, the paper in front of him ignored as he looks at his son. He’s careful not to spill his coffee on the crisp white suit he wears. “It’s not everyday you turn twelve.” He says, sending Jason a wink that makes him laugh. _

 

_ “Can I have chocolate chip pancakes?” He asks. “Oh! With bacon! Lot’s of bacon!” He adds as an afterthought. _

 

_ His mother smiles, and strokes his hair. “Of course you can baby.” She says, and turns to begin Jason’s breakfast. _

 

_ “That sounds good.” His father says, relaxing slightly in his chair. His coffee is ignored on the table as he closes his eyes. _

 

_ “Uh-uh!” His mother says, a teasing lilt to her voice. “You have to go to work mister!”  _

 

_ His father groans, and everything shifts slightly. _

 

_ “Ugh. Work.” He says, and his voice is gruffer somehow. No longer is he wearing the suit, but a stained white t-shirt. His coffee is gone, instead replaced by the cheap bottle of whiskey Jason knew Willis favored. _

 

_ The wind picks up slightly, no longer smelling of a fresh sea breeze but instead of rotting garbage. _

 

_ “Some idiots got the new order of shipment lost, and you know whose going to get blamed for it?” Willis’ voice raises slightly, and Jason shifts in his seat. “Me! That’s who!” He says, taking a swig of his drink. The slam of the bottle onto the tabletop makes both Jason and his mom jump, and she looks at him with wary eyes. _

 

_ “Willis…” She starts quietly. She looks different too, no longer is there the healthy shine to her hair, and her skin is pale and gaunt. She looks too skinny, and her sweater hangs off her small frame. _

 

_ “What Cathy!” He yells, and Jason shrinks in his seat, promise of birthday pancakes long forgotten. _

 

_ Jason’s back in his old apartment again. The walls are a pale, dirty yellow, and the paint is chipped and ruined by water damage. The table wobbles as Willis takes another drink of his whiskey, and the chairs are broken and mismatched. There’s something burning in the background, their meager dinner waiting to be served. _

 

_ His mom had backed herself up against the counter, hands gripping the edges so hard her knuckles turned white.  _

 

_ “Um… daddy…” Jason says quietly. He wants to tell him that it’ll all be okay, that Jason can help if he needs it, but the words die in his throat when Willis turns his angry gaze on him. _

 

_ “What!” He yells, standing up so suddenly that the chair topples over and crashes loudly against the linoleum floor. _

 

_ “Willis, stop-” His mother says, coming to Jason’s defense. _

 

_ “Shut UP!” He yells shoving the woman down, and Jason gasps as he watches his mother fall to the floor. _

 

_ She’s sick, Jason thinks, He can’ treat her like that, he’s going to hurt her- _

 

_ “I want to hear what he has to say!” The only thing that separates them is the table between them, but it doesn’t do anything to make it seem like Willis isn’t towering above him. _

 

_ “You wanna tell me how much of a fuck up your old man is?” Willis asks, hands crashing down onto the table top. “How much we’re struggling! Well news flash kid- I didn’t ask for this!” _

 

_ Jason steels himself, glaring up at his father, eyes burning. _

 

_ “Leave us alone!” He shouts back. “It’s not our fault, you just wanna be mean!”  _

 

_ “Mean?” His father asks, and laughs, looking to his mother, and then back to Jason. “MEAN!” He shouts, and the whiskey bottle goes flying against the wall.  _

 

_ “I do EVERYTHING for this fucking family, and this is how I’m treated!” The table crashes to the ground, over his mom, and Jason cries out for her. _

 

_ “I just wanted to have a NICE FUCKING DINNER!” _

 

_ Jason throws his arms up to protect himself. _

 

_ The thunder wakes Jason up just as Willis’ hand comes down to hit him _

 

Jason wakes up with a strangled cry, sitting up straight in his bed. His cheek stings from the phantom slap of Willis’ hand.

 

Lightning illuminates the room, casting ghoulish shadows on his walls as Jason looks to his digital clock. Just a little past three in the morning, August sixteenth. 

 

Happy freakin twelfth birthday to him. He wipes at his eyes with the sleeves of his pajamas, sniffling to himself. 

 

The dream had felt so real, like he had actually been there.  _ I want my mom _ , he thinks, wiping his face again. She’s gone though, and Jason’s stuck in the darkness of his bedroom.

 

It’s too big, there’s too much space, and he  _ has _ to be imagining the figures on the walls closing in on him. 

 

He hadn’t inhaled any of Scarecrow’s toxins, so Jason doesn’t know why he’s seeing a more grotesque Willis, with claw like fingers and sunken in eyes.

 

He slips under the covers, pulling them above his head as he breathes.  _ What a crummy birthday _ , he wants to say, but saves his breath, and instead focus’ on calming himself down. 

 

His breathing starts to even out, and he can feel himself falling asleep.

 

Thunder crashes again, and Jason yells as he sits up, throwing his blankets off of him. He jumps out of bed, and scrambles to the door, ignoring how loud it creaks when he opens it. He shuts it behind him, and his hands shake as he slides down and sits against it.

 

The scary thing about Wayne Manor was how quiet it got at night. The house made noises, creaking as it settled. Jason was half convinced Ghosts roamed its halls. That Martha and Thomas Wayne were still there, locked away in that big bedroom that Bruce doesn’t go near.

 

Standing he sniffles again, wiping away stray tears from his cheeks. 

 

“It’s okay Jason…” He says to himself as he walks down the dark hallway. “It’s gonna be okay.” He doesn’t quite know where his feet are taking him, for all he knew, Bruce and Alfred were probably still in the cave.

 

While Bruce is a great fath- Guardian, Jason can’t help but miss his mother. How she’d hold him when he was very small. The way she smelled like cheap perfume and cigarettes. The shine of her hair on good days, and how she loved it when Jason would play with it.

 

Before things were really bad, she would hold him when he got scared. Thunder was always the worst, waking him up so suddenly that he’d be in tears for the rest of the night.

 

_ “Don’t be afraid baby,” _ She’d say, rocking him gently. She’d press kisses to his face as he cried, and would wipe away stray tears. He’d cling to her, crying loudly as she rubbed his back softly.

 

_ “Don’t be afraid baby,” _ She’d say again, and smile.  _ “You wanna know a secret?” _

 

He’d look up at her with wide, watery eyes, mouth trembling slightly as he spoke.  _ “A secret?” _

 

_ “Yeah baby, a secret.” _ She’d nod, then lean in closer, her forehead resting against his.  _ “You wanna know why it thunders?” _

 

He’d nod, eyes never leaving hers. 

 

_ “It’s God and his angels baby. _ ” She’d say, and giggle when he looked at her confused.  _ “They’re playing a game.” _

 

_ “What kinda game mama…” _ he’d ask, eyes wide and trusting.

 

_ “Bowling!”  _ She’d laugh, and Jason would giggle with her.  _ “They’re having so much fun up there in the clouds baby, and they don’t mean to scare you! Every loud thunder is just another angel getting a strike!”  _

 

Even if it was silly, and even if the thunder scared him, he still had his mother there to hold him

 

The next clap of thunder reminds him that he doesn’t have that anymore, doesn’t have her. It scares him so bad his socked feet take off down the hall, and he doesn’t even hesitate when he throws open the door to Bruce’s room. 

 

He takes in a shuddering breath as he slams it shut behind him, and Jason leans heavily against the door. Bruce isn’t asleep, not yet. The sudden noise of Jason entering makes him drop the file he was reading onto his lap and he stares at Jason. He’s on his feet in an instant, pulling on a discarded shirt as he makes his way over to him.

 

“Jason, what’s wrong?” Bruce asks, and he’s kneeling in front of him now. “Is everything alright?” 

 

The boy licks his lips, readying an answer when the thunder shakes the manor again. Jason is on Bruce in an instant, throwing his arms around Bruce’s neck as he shakes. The boy squeezes his eyes shut, whimpering quietly as Bruce’s hands come around him and pick him up.

 

He should be more embarrassed about this, he thinks, being carried by his dad- by Bruce. He practically sitting in the mans lap when Bruce finally sits on the bed, but Jason can’t bring himself to care.

 

Jason curls into Bruce’s embrace, and sniffles, the waterworks flowing as he’s held by Bruce. The man rubs his back as Jason shakes, the stress of his nightmare and the thunder waking him too much.

 

“Shh Jaylad, it’s alright.” Bruce says, rubbing Jason’s back slowly. It reminds Jason of his mom, and that just makes him want to cry more.

 

“I w-want m-my mama…” Jason whimpers, and Bruce rubs his back more. 

 

“I know Jaylad,” Bruce says, rocking the both of them slowly. “I know you do.”

 

They stay like that for a while, Bruce gently rocking the both of them as Jason cries. His hand rubbing slow and soothing circles into Jason’s back.

 

Jason’s cries quiet as Bruce holds him, until they’re nothing more than sniffles. For the first time since he woke up, Jason feels safe. He can feel his eyes drooping, and he only feels slightly bad for getting tears and snot all over Bruce’s shoulder, but Bruce doesn’t seem to care.

 

Bruce’s steady heartbeat in his chest, along with the hand still rubbing his back is enough to lull Jason to sleep.

 

“Nothing will ever hurt you,” He hears Bruce whisper to him as Jason’s breathing finally evens out and his eyes finally close. 

 

“Not while I’m here.”


End file.
